The old fashioned ‘diet’ food that’s low in calories and high in protein

Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is rich in protein, but it also contains calcium, vitamin B12 and other micronutrients - iStockphoto

Richard Nixon ate it with pineapple. Seventies slimmers plumped for a grapefruit accompaniment. Many were thankful when its lumpy, faintly sticky texture fell from favour, replaced in the main by yogurt. Now, however, it is back. On TikTok, social media influencers are pairing it with avocado on toast, baking it into “viral flatbreads” and adding it to cookies – or even fudge. Why, oh why, is cottage cheese making a comeback – and is it really the healthiest cheese out there?

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What exactly is cottage cheese and how is it made?

“Cottage cheese is essentially curds,” explains Eve Kalinik, a nutritional therapist and the author of Happy Gut, Happy Mind. An acid is added to milk, like lemon juice, vinegar or a bacterial culture that produces lactic acid. This separates the curds from whey. Once the curds solidify, the whey is drained off. What remains is cut into smaller pieces and voilà – cottage cheese.

Is it a rich source of protein?

Nutritionally, it really can be, explains Kalinik, even though texturally, what’s produced might be considered less than desirable. That’s because these curds contain casein, a protein that occurs naturally in milk, but which coagulates into clumps when acid is introduced.

“Casein protein is a complete protein, meaning it provides all nine essential amino acids,” she explains. While retro diets championed cottage cheese as a slimming aid, today’s influencers talk incessantly about this protein punch.

Which makes sense. To a degree. One hundred grams of cottage cheese contains around 17g of protein – around two and half times the amount found in one egg and three times that contained in full-fat yogurt. Your body needs protein to build muscle, repair tissues and cells, make and regulate hormones, keep your digestion in check, oxygenate your blood…

So yes. Protein is pretty important and complete ones are even more so. Proteins are built from 20 different amino acids, 11 of which our bodies can make, but nine of which we can only get through ingesting them. So-called complete proteins – such as casein – contain all nine of these.

Mind you, whey is also a complete protein, your body just handles it slightly differently. More on which to follow…

Can cottage cheese help you lose weight?

Potentially. For a start, it’s low in calories for a cheese. One hundred grams of Sainsbury’s cottage cheese contains 111kcal, while the same amount of its own-brand mature cheddar contains 416kcal.

There are also benefits to weeding out the whey in its production. Because while whey is also a complete protein, casein is considered a “time release” protein, digested more slowly and thus keeping you feeling full for longer. One 2012 study asked participants to follow a high protein diet for a year and found that their body weight decreased by an average of 2.8kg (6lb) for women and 1.4kg (3lb) for men. According to another, cottage cheese has a similar “satiating power” to eggs.

However, “no single food can help you lose weight,” says Dr Federica Amati, the author of Every Body Should Know This and head nutritionist at the health science company Zoe. “Reaching a healthy weight is about your whole dietary pattern over months – there are no quick fixes.”

How does your favourite cheese stack up against others, health-wise?

All cheese values based on 30g

Cottage cheese packs a decent health punch next to its rivals, as one of the lowest in calories, on a par with its cousin ricotta. They both have 31 calories per 30g serving, next to cheddar’s more portly 125. It is also the lowest in saturated fat, with just shy of 1g per serving; whereas the Christmas Stilton weighs in at 6.9g of saturated fat.

Cottage cheese still beats ricotta on the protein-front, with 3.75g of protein per 30g serving, next to a skimpy 2.1g. However, cheddar-lovers rejoice, cheddar wins the prize for protein with 7.6g (if you ignore the salt content, which is five times more than cottage cheese). Still, small wins.

Does cottage cheese have a range of vitamins and minerals?

“Yes, cottage cheese is rich in protein, but it also contains calcium, vitamin B12, and other micronutrients,” says Dr Amati.

Vitamin B12 is important for brain function. Calcium, of course, is vital for bone and teeth health, but cottage cheese is a good source of phosphorus, a mineral that also helps in that department, and also of the micronutrient riboflavin, which is good for your skin and eyes.

How about antioxidants?

“Cottage cheese also contains a fair dose of selenium, which is an essential nutrient and an antioxidant,” says Amati. This is good news for everyone, since antioxidants prevent and slow cell damage caused by free radicals (waste substances produced as your body reacts to pressures such as inflammation or pollution).

One cup (225g) is likely to contain around 36 per cent of your daily recommended intake of selenium, important for reproduction, thyroid gland function, DNA production and more.

Does it really boost digestive health?

“Some brands of cottage cheese contain live cultures,” says Dr Emily Leeming, a microbiome scientist, dietician and author of Genus Gut. “These live cultures can introduce new ‘good’ bacteria and yeasts into your gut, helping to maintain a healthy microbiome, which plays a crucial role in digestion and overall well-being.” Not all brands do contain this important ingredient, however: “so it’s important to check the label for ‘live or active cultures’”, she says.

Can cottage cheese help build muscle?

Yes, if you believe the bright young things touting “easy cottage snacks that got me stacked”. But does the science stack up? Sort of. Protein, of course, is crucial for muscle growth because it helps repair and maintain tissue. Since casein is a slow-release form, some bodybuilders eat cottage cheese before bed, aiming for a steady release of amino acids overnight, limiting muscle breakdown. That said, a 2017 study looked at the impact on muscle mass and strength of eating slow or fast proteins after exercise and found no difference.

Overall, “to build muscle, you need to do resistance exercises and eat adequate protein,” says Amati. “Cottage cheese is a good source of protein, but it won’t help you build muscle unless you put in the hard work, sadly.”

What about bone strength?

“As with other dairy products, cottage cheese contains calcium, which is important to support bone health,” says Amati. That said, hard cheeses contain far more. One hundred grams of cottage cheese, for example, will contain around 90 milligrams of calcium, while the same amount of parmesan can contain more than 900 milligrams.

Can it cause allergic reactions?

On the flipside, fresh cheeses contain significantly more lactose than hard cheeses do. One hundred grams of cottage cheese contains around 3.5g of lactose, less than mascarpone (4.5g) but a lot more than cheddar (0.1g). So, “people who are lactose intolerant or have an allergy to dairy should avoid cottage cheese,” says Amati.

What is the most nutritious way to eat cottage cheese?

Unfortunately, it’s probably not as fudge, as some social media influencers have been touting. “As cottage cheese doesn’t contain fibre, which is key to supporting a healthy gut microbiome, it’s a good idea to pair it with fibre-rich foods such as berries, wholegrain crackers or seeds for a balanced gut-health boost,” says Leeming.

Amati points to Zoe’s viral recipe (see recipe section below) for cottage cheese protein pancakes, which mix fibre, protein and fat in the form of oats, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, thus slowing the rate at which any sugar is absorbed, leading to smaller blood sugar spikes and longer satiation.

The verdict: is cottage cheese healthy?

In essence, cottage cheese is one of the most healthy cheeses around, but obsessive food fads of any kind are not, all three experts agree. Take the “mustard and cottage cheese” diet that took hold on Tiktok, influencing people to eat raw vegetables and sausages dipped in cottage cheese and mustard (no, really). Influencers claimed it led to weight loss, while nutritionists criticised it. Cottage cheese, they pointed out, is high in sodium so needs to be eaten as part of a varied diet.

“Cottage cheese can form part of a healthy diet, although I would lean more towards the aged harder cheese like cheddar or parmesan if you want more substantial probiotic benefits,” says Kalinik.

Your best bet, suggests Amati, is not to follow fads but to focus on eating a diverse diet, packed with plants, while staying active. So if you like cottage cheese, eat it. But if you don’t, then don’t panic. Greek yogurt may have less protein, but it also has more calcium, lower sodium levels and is a more reliable source of live probiotic bacteria. Fewer lumps too.

How to cook with cottage cheese

Even if you’re not a fan of cottage cheese, these recipes are full of flavour, so you won’t even notice it.

Cottage cheese protein pancakes from Zoe

Cottage cheese pancakes
Cottage cheese pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 60g oats

  • 150g cottage cheese

  • Zest of one lemon

  • A handful of blueberries

  • 1 egg

  • A pinch each of salt and baking powder

  • A splash of water or milk

  • Toppings: we used Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries and lemon curd

Method:

  1. Mix the oats in a blender to process them into a flour.

  2. Add the remaining pancake ingredients, aside from the blueberries, to the blender and blend until smooth, add a splash of water/milk if needed, the batter should be thick but pourable.

  3. Once you’re happy with the batter, fold through either fresh or frozen blueberries, keeping some aside for toppings.

  4. Heat a frying pan and add a little butter or oil, and then a couple tbsp of pancake batter per pancake.

  5. Cook for a few minutes on each side and serve with toppings of your choice.

Cottage cheese flatbread from TikTok

Cottage cheese flatbread
Cottage cheese flatbread

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cottage cheese

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning

Method:

  1. Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth.

  2. Pour onto a 9in x 13in parchment-lined baking sheet.

You only need four ingredients for cottage chese flatbread
You only need four ingredients for cottage chese flatbread - E+
  1. Bake at 350F/180C/gas 4 for 35 minutes.

  2. Cool for 10 minutes.

  3. This makes 2 flatbreads.

Cottage cheese cookies recipe from TikTok

Cottage cheese cookies
Cottage cheese cookies

Ingredients:

  • 250g large curd cottage cheese

  • 62g pure maple syrup

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • 250g almond flour

  • 2 tbsp melted coconut oil

  • 125g vanilla protein powder

  • 125g chocolate chips (plus more for topping)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. In a blender, add the cottage cheese, maple syrup and vanilla. Blend on high until smooth.

  3. In a mixing bowl combine almond flour and protein powder. Add the coconut oil and cottage cheese mixture.

  4. Stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

  5. Scoop dough onto a prepared baking sheet using a medium cookie scoop and use your hands to flatten the cookies just a bit so they’re in a cookie shape. You can also roll the cookie dough into a ball and then use your hand to flatter for a more uniform shape. Add a couple more chocolate chips on top of each cookie.

  6. Bake for about 15-16 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!